British man fighting against Russia to face terrorism charges
- 31 January, 08:30
A British national fighting in Ukraine’s war against Russia will face terrorism and mercenary charges, Russian state investigators said on Thursday.
The investigation committee released a video on Thursday, showing the British man being brought to a room for questioning, handcuffed and dressed in a prison uniform. The agency said in a statement that the suspect would face terrorism and mercenary charges for participating "in an armed conflict as a mercenary on the territory of the Russian Federation for financial remuneration". The investigators said they had gathered what they called "irrefutable evidence" of his guilt and that his case would be heard by a military court. However, it’s unknown whether Anderson has pleaded guilty. If convicted, he will face lengthy prison term of up to 20 years.
Russia announced in November that it had captured Anderson, describing him as a British soldier and accusing him of illegally crossing the Russian border from Ukraine. Anderson was fighting on the Ukrainian side in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukraine launched large-scale incursion in mid-August and captured swathes of Russian lands.
Britain's Foreign Minister David Lammy said in November that he was aware of Anderson’s arrest, pledging that London would do all it could to offer him assistance.
Thousands of foreign fighters are fighting in Ukraine against Russia as part of Ukraine’s International Legion set up at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 27, 2022, days after Russia’s full-fledged invasion of the country.
